Like as the Lute - ACE087.4

The El Hefay Ensemble – ’ud, kanun (qanún), ney, violin, percussion. Rooley’s VO says that this music is largely improvised, and musicians keep alive a living tradition whose classical nature depends on the "pure" style in which they play. He points out the similarity of the instrumental combination to those of Renaissance England, and suggests parallels between the symbolism of the ’ud as representing man and Elizabethan philosophy. Reading over of passage that confirms this. Rooley with Dr Samha el Kholy who talks of Arab music as a living tradition, not a revival as with early music in Europe. Cairo street scenes. Voice of muezzin. Men praying. Class at the Institute of Musical Education playing from music and with a conductor. El Kholy says that music is changing as ensembles grow into orchestras, concert halls are larger, and the skill of the individual musician is less respected. Rooley says that the opposite in happening in Europe where musicians are trying to recover earlier improvisational practices.